EHD recommendations for Time Machine back-up?

Hi!
I need to buy a 2 or 3 TB EHD, preferably Firewire, for Time Machine back-ups of my iMac and EHD.  Can anyone tell me what's a good reliable brand at a reasonable price?  I've found several Western Digitals, Seagates, Iomegas, and LaCies, but none of them get stellar reviews.  Frankly, I'm afraid to trust any of them based on what I've read. 
I currently have a 1 TB Seagate GoFlex Desktop that's a huge pain in the tush because it powers down regularly and then ejects from my desktop giving me an error message.  I get sick of this happening all day long, so now I don't trust Seagate at all. 
I've had an internal WD hard drive fail after a year and a half in my previous iMac.  So, any suggestions? I want to pay $150 or less, so if I can only get a USB one for that, it's okay as long as it gets great recommendations.
I'd love to hear what others have had good luck with.  
TIA!

i have actually very good experiences with LaCie drives, particularly the d2 Quadra.
however, the Mercury Elite line by OWC is also recommended often.

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